Half oe his eight to thomas f



L 2 sheetssheen 1. W. H. MALLORY.

. 'Torpedo-Boat.

No. 223,855. Patented Jan. 27, 1880.

A `4 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. W. H. MALLORY. l i Torpedo-Boat. No. 223,855.Patented Jan.' 27, 1880.

@gare 3 A y @are ,2.

L in

' Mwmmx 76M@ UNITED STATES( PATENT? OFFICE. y

,WILLIAM'E MALLOEY, OE BEIDGEPOET; CONNECTICUT, AssIeNOE OE ONE-l HALEvOE yLuis EIGHT TO THOMAS E. EOWLAND, OENEw YORK.

SPECIFICATION ferrnng part of Letters Patentl No. 223,855, dated January27,1880. Application nIeJun 2s, 1879. v

To all whom it'mcy concer/1t:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. MALLORY, of Bridgeport, countyofFairtiel( l, State ot Connecticut, have inventeda new'aud useful Im-`provement in Torpedooats, of which thefollowing is a'i'ull', referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings.

, My invention relates to short-range freexo going torpedoboats, whichare intended to be substituted for the Ordin ary torpedoboom carried on.torpedolaunches.' These boats contain within themselves sufficientpropulsive power to run a short distance-say ve or six 'I5 hundredfeetand are so constructed as to travel through the water inthe'direotion iu which they are pointed. By this means it ,bey comesunnecessaryl to run the torpedo-launch as close to the vessel to .heblown uplas 'was zo previouslythe case, because this torpedo, when ystarted, 'will itself, from its own'power, traverse the distance betw'enthe launch and th'evessel to be'blown' up.

lVarious attempts have'bei'orenow been made to accomplish asimilarpurpose-'-as, for inl stance, in the Whitehead torpedoes, manufactu'red'iu England, whiehrun by compressed air, and are provided with anautomatic steering apparatus. These torpedoes are, however, complicatedand expensive, and when in action do not follow a straight line, butrather a series of curves. v L

My improved torpedoboat, on the contrary, is very simple, its tnotivepowerbeing obtained from a series of coiled springs, whereby rotation.around itsown axis,'like a ride-bullet, is obtained, insuring greataccuracy of aim.- This revolution, moreover, is the natural result ofthe motive power, as will be presently 'eX- y 4G plained, andtherapidity of revolution is controlledby means of wings or tins. Thegeneral construction of my improved torpedo-boat is as'follows: Theshell itself consists of a long cigar-shaped vesselsay twelve or fifteenfeet in .length and ten inches in diameter; but these Vproportions maybe varied. The propelling-power is a centrally-located screw-propeller,which is mounted on aring about the center of .the boat, and is provided5 with a suitable number of propeller-blades.V

true,'and exact description,

however, being the same This ring is attached to 'one end ot' a coiledspring similar to an ordinary clock-spring, but VOi' course muchheavier.

The inner endl of this spiral is-conn'ected with ametallicdouhle-connectin g drum, which 5 5 joins it' to the outer end of anadjacent parallel coiled spring similar to the first. There is a series'of these sufficient to give the number of rotations which maybe requiredto advance the boat the-distance designed. They 6g are so connectedtogether that the inner end of each spring is connected to the outer endi of the next, or vice' versa, so that the'total number of revolutionswhich can be given to 'A the 'propeller-wheel dependsp'n the number 65of` turns wliichaeaclrspringis capable of producing multiplied by thenumber of springs. In this way we getva great capacity for rotation froma series of springs coiled in a cylin- `der having a very smalldiameter, ,their'eiiech 7o as that of a single spring, one end of whichis attached tothe propeller, the other to the boat.l

,It will be plainly seen that a boat so |cone trived must have atendency to revolve in the opposite direction from that in which theprel peller is moving, owing to the reaction he--f` tween the propellerand the boat. This tend# ency isfutilized in my improved torpedo-.boat

by`allowing the spring to give to the boat .az-8o rotation about its'own axis, and this rotation is controlled by means of 'fins or' wingsattached 'to' the lstern of the boat, which' allow it to rotate aboutone and oneh-alf turn-in advancing its own length, and serve'also as a 85 base' fonthe spring the propeller.V Y i e My boat consists, generally,of three sections, connected together bya central tube, the bow orfrontend being pro vided with the explosive, 9o the stern or rear end:containing a coil'ot' explOding-wire,'if one is required. The detailsof my boat will be clearly understood from Vthe accompanying drawings,in which- Figure lrepresents a general view of my boat suspended in whatis known as the gun.

to act against iny rotating 4 ,whichcohsists simply of an opeuftubesuffi-V ciently large to allow the boat to lnove 4freely through it.

roo

5 as described, and shown more clearly in Figs'.

2 .and 3, which represent sections through said springs.

-The propeller l shouldpreterably be placed about the middle of thebo'at.

C' represents a coil of wire in a compartiment communicating with thewater. This coil of wire C is so arranged that the twist which isnaturally given to the wire in uncoilin g is compensated by the rotationof the propelled boat in the opposite direction, so that when the wireis nncoiled to its full length it is practically untwisted, which is nottrue in the case of .a boatnot` revolving around its own axis, unlesssome special arrangement is made tocounteract the twist due to theuncoiling of'the wire'. This is continued out of the stern 'of the' boatand forward into the magazineM- in the bow'.`

This magazine is also provided with a tiringpin, N, and may be'fired 'inconnection with the wire, or independently, as may be desired.

The springs are arranged in a series of metallic drums. (Shown in-detailin'Fig. 4.) The springs are coiled alternately inside of .the outer angeand outside of the inner-Harige,

the outerspiral or coil of each spring` is connected inside of the outeriiange, while its inner coil is connected outside of the inner tlan geof the next drinn in the series-iii other words,

3 5 the ,motive power consists of a series ofcoile'dl springs,which areconnected together by double drums, (shown in Fig. 4,) the outer end ofone .spring being connected to the-inside ot' the drum, while its innerend is connected to `the 4o spindle of the next drum.

It`will thus he seen that each of tliese' drums lcontaining springs hasa capacity of revolution independent' of the others; but they are soconnected that the' propeller-blad es will re A45 volve as many timesas" all the springs are capahle of being wound. l

The propeller is prevented from revolving when the apparatus is notinuse by means of a. key, K, which passes through the stationary' 5o partof the boat and through the revolving propeller-rin g.

The springs may either be wound by revolving the propeller by hand, or,the propeller be' ing locked by the hey K, the worm-wheel U, providedwith a suitable revolving stem, may be revolved at the other end,thelast drum' S of the series being* connected with a cylinder revolvedby said worm-wheel, as shown.

The end compartments are connected by the 6o central tube, T, throughwhich the tiring-wire R may pass, and thestern is provided with bladesW, previously described. lhe water is allowed to enter thespring-compartments and the wire-coinpartinents freely; but the 6 5series of springs are protected from any external injury by the freesheathing V outside,

which cxtendsus far as thc revolving propelleri and are connected inseries, as shown, so that.

ring. The propelling-ring is arranged approxiinate'ly in the center ofthe lateral resistance of the boat, so that there, is no tendency toslue the boat in either direction, which might i be the case if' it wereplaced at the stern or at any other position.

The 'operation ot' my boat can now be read'-v ilyr understood. The boatB is first placed in the gun G, which is suspended by means of theswivel H at the side or end ofthe launch. The launch having been broughtwithin striking distance, the proper direct-ion is given to the gun andthe-key K iswithdrawn from the propeller, the springs having beenpreviously wound. The boat immediately assumes a central position in thegun, and passes freely through it in a direction coincident with itsaxial line.

By depressing the tube the boat can be caused to strike at any distanceunder water. i

-After leaving the gun the boat follows a straight line in thedirectionin which it started, and assumes a rotation around its .own axis equalto a turn and a half in moving its own length .and opposite to thedirection in which the propeller1 is moving, or a rotation approxi-"mately equal to that dueto the fins W.

In striking the vessel the iiringpin- N is driven in, and this mayeither directly tire the charge `orfit'may be used to make an electricalconnection between the wire R and the.` boat, thereby firing the charge.a lt. is` evident that the rotating tins may be used in connection withother means of propulsion than that here 'shown 5 also, that the coiledsprings could heused to operate a screwpropeller at the stern andvarious other modi- 'iications might he made' without interfering withthe'principle of my invention.

I do not wish to be'u'nderstood as claiming.'

the application of any spring-power mechanism to a shaft of la boatpropeller for the purpose of propulsion; nor do Iclaim the particularspring-power mechanism described, ir- `respective of' its application tothe centrallylocated shaft of a ltorpedo-boat.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

l. The combination, in a torpedo-boat, with a centrally-locatedpropeller-wheel, of a springthat is 'to say, with the axis about whichthe springs are coiled coincident with that of thetorpedo-boat,substantially as shown and described, Whereby rotatingtranslatory move- IOO power mechanism arranged axially thereinment isimparted to the boat in a true'rectilinear direction, as herein setforth.

2. In a torpedo-boat' provided with a propellerwheel as the motivepower, the hereindescribed spring mechanism, the same consist'ing of aseries of coiled springspwhich are connected together by double drums,as shown and described, the outer end of one spring heing connected tothe inside of the druni,wliile its innerend is connected to the spindleof the next drum', and the endonc of the series beingconnected withthe'propeller-wheel, the several drumsof `said spring mechanism beingarranged with their axes coincident with that of the torpedo-boat,substantially as shown and set forth.

3. In a torpedo-boat, the combination, with a central propeller andspring-newer' mechanism to actuate the same, oi' spirally-arranged iins,permanently attached tothe rear end of the boat, so that rotationaround itsaxis may give to the boat when in motion a direction oppositeto that of the propeller, thereby maintaining i t on a direct un varyingcourse through the water, substantially as set forth.

V4.. A torpedo-boat provided witha propellerwheel and with'spirally-arran ged wings astern of the center thereof, as described,permanentij;h attached to thel boat, for the' purpose ofallowingftheboat to assume a determined rotation in the opposite direction tothatinwhich the propeller is moving, substantially as described. -j'

5. Atorped'o-boat arranged propeller-wheehand withV spirallyarrangedwings permanently attached to the boat, for the purpose1ofal1owing theboat to "assume la determined rotation-in the opposite.

direction to that in whichthe propelleris movin g, substantially as.described.

6. Inl the combinationwitharotarytorpedo-- boat, a firing-wire coiled inthe ,same direcprovided with al centrallyl the surface of thesuspendingand givingdirection to the torpedo- 5o tion as that in which the torpedoitself is revolved, whereby said wire is delivered 11ntwisted,substantially as described.

7. A torpedo-boat consisting of two independent Iioating sections and acentral con- 3g nection,.w.hieh serves to maintain a permanent boat, thesaid tube 'or gun being adapted to beturned in all directions positionvof the launch or vessel from which the tubeand, contained torpedo-boatare suspendedfsubstantially as described.

` WM. H. MALLOR-Y.

- Witnesses:

S. F. SULLIVAN, GEO. W. MIATT.

irrespective oi' the

